Khartoum in double seizure of Libyan, South Sudanese arms
September 10, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Libyan government forces acting in collaboration with their Sudanese counterparts have laid hands on a stash of materiel buried in the desert borderlands between the two countries, officials from both sides confirmed on Monday.
Sudanese military sources told Sudan Tribune that the joint forces found great amounts of arms, M-21OF Grad missiles and ammunition stashed in the desert as they said by some “gangs” in preparation for an attack on, or smuggling into Al-Kufra town in Libya’s southeastern borders with Sudan and Chad.
The story was corroborated by the military commander of Al-Kufra town, Colonel Suliman Hamid, who said that their forces found the weapons near Alewinat passageway and continue to reconnoiter the surrounding areas in search for additional hideouts.
Al-Kufra was one of the towns Sudan helped to liberate during the 2011 uprising against former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi by supplying arms to the then rebel-turned-ruling National Transitional Council (NTC).
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, former leader of the NTC before its dissolution this week, praised the role Sudan played in liberating during a visit he paid to Khartoum in November 2011.
“It would not have been possible to liberate Al-Kufra from Qaddafi forces without the Sudanese military support” he stated.
Separately, Sudanese police announced on Monday the seizure of arms and ammunition during a raid on a house south of the capital Khartoum.
According to Sudan official news agency (SUNA), police forces raided the house after receiving reports from citizens that it contains arms.
SUNA said that police investigations revealed that the house is rented and was inhabited before by a member of South Sudan’s ruling party the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and other South Sudanese citizens.
Some of the arms and ammunition seized, according to SUNA, includes the following: 1 Kalashnikov rifle, 5 mortars, 581 Kalashnikov bullets and1 bullet of DShK machine gun.
Sudan claimed on 31 August that it foiled an attempt by allied rebels of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) to smuggle arms into Khartoum in a vehicle that was captured by security authorities in White Nile State. Khartoum accuses South Sudan of supporting SRF rebels, a charge Juba denies.
(ST)